Underground Gear

[bergdh]

So I am looking at some helmets and lights, was wondering what kinds of stuff you guys like and if someone might share the pack list they take down under?

[Jeff]

I know we have a thread on this subject somewhere but I will go over some of the gear we take with us. Our head gear varies but I wear a Black Diamond half dome rock climbing helmet some have petzl helmets or a good bike helmet or hard hat will do. We wear coveralls gloves and sturdy shoes preferably water proof.We all have durable day packs and we put lunch,snacks,water,first aid kits,back up flash lights and extra batteries in them I'm sure others put different things in theirs but those are the common items we also all have rock hammers for sampling or rock houding. Our lighting varies but most of us use led lighting because it last much longer, some of us strap mag lights on with our head lamps as well and some have custom lighting.

[bergdh]

sorry I didnt do a whole lot of searching for another similar thread.

do you like the half dome?

[Jeff]

No problem, yeah so far it has been a good helmet. Some of the others wear a Spelios I think is the name of it I could be wrong and they seem to like theirs too.

[MiningEngineer]

Jeff, I think you're thinking of the Petzl Elios. It's what I wear, and I like it just fine. I think it's pretty similar to the BD half dome.

[Joanne]

I am also researching some new equipment. I used to climb many years ago but sold off most of my gear after I got married so I need new "stuff". I'm currently looking at the Black Diamond Half Dome. I tried it on at REI the other day and liked it. It comes with clips that hold the band of your headlamp in place. I like that feature. (Right now I'm using a bike helmet with a PT "Fuel" headlamp attached. That setup works OK but has a high "dork" factor.)

I'm also looking seriously at the Princeton Tec Apex for my headlamp. I'm still researching my backup lights. I want one that is a dispersed beam and a second that is primarily a long distance beam. Lots of good choices to choose from. If you haven't been to www.candlepowerforums.com yet, you probably want to spend some time reading there. Those folks are INTO their lights.

I dug out my climbing harness the other day and found that I'm a bit bigger than I was in my college years (go figure). I'll have to buy a new one along with the rest of the rappelling / ascending gear. Like all things that require skill and knowledge, I will need to practice before I get into an actual mine rappel and ascend situation. That said, I look forward to some more advanced exploration.

Joanne